Topline

A 2018 Senate investigation finding there was no ‘verifiable evidence’ to support sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had ‘serious omissions’ regarding the comrade’s allegations classmate of Kavanaugh at Yale University, Deborah Ramirez, the Guardian reportsas the allegations against the judiciary and the government’s investigation into them continue to come under scrutiny nearly five years later.

Highlights

The Senate Judiciary Committee, then controlled by the GOP and chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), released a report in November 2018, following confirmation from Kavanaugh, who concluded “there was no evidence to support any of the sexual assault allegations made against Judge Kavanaugh”.

Ramirez was one of several accusers whose allegations were investigated in the report – after he alleged that Kavanaugh drunkenly exposed himself to her at a college party, “shoved his penis in her face and tricked her into touching him without his consent as she pushed him away” – and the Senate report concluded there was “no verifiable evidence” to support the claims.

The committee cited an interview with a classmate at Yale who said there was another student known to “expose themselves publicly” and attached a photo of that student doing so, suggesting that Ramirez confused Kavanaugh with this other student and saying if anyone other than them had “engaged in similar lewd behavior, it would have been widely known and discussed on campus.”

This claim was sent by attorney Joseph C. Smith, Jr., according to an email seen by the Guardianwho the report did not reveal is a member of the conservative Federal Society who supported Kavanaugh’s nomination and has ties to his co-founder Leonard Leowho has spent billions to influence federal courts, including the Supreme Court.

The student Smith suggested Ramirez confuse with Kavanaugh, Jack Maxey, hadn’t even been to Yale at the time of the alleged incident and was still in high school at the time, the Guardian reports, and Maxey told the publication that the committee did not contact him to confirm the allegations and denied ever exposing himself to Ramirez.

Smith, Grassley’s office and the Supreme Court have not yet responded to requests for comment.

crucial quote

“I wasn’t at Yale” when the alleged Ramirez incident happened, Maxey told the Guardian. “These people can say whatever they want, and there are never any consequences.” The publication notes that Maxey, now a conservative activist, defends Kavanaugh, describing him as behaving like an “choirboy” at Yale.

Chief Spokesperson

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the sexual misconduct allegations against him, and the Senate report notes that when asked about Ramirez’s allegations, Kavanaugh replied, “That didn’t happen.”

Key Context

Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Donald Trump in 2018, and his confirmation sparked widespread controversy after Christine Blasey Ford. accused him of sexually assaulting her at a party in 1982. The current judge was eventually confirmed to the bench despite the allegations, but government investigations into the charges against the justice continued to face scrutiny even after his appointment to the bench. In addition to the Senate report, the FBI also investigated the allegations against Kavanaugh as part of its background check on the nominee during its confirmation process. Democrats have largely critical this investigation for failing to fully investigate information against him it received or contacting witnesses who claimed to have corroborating evidence, with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) snapping in 2021 as “politically constrained and possibly wrong”. Whitehouse questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray about the investigation during a Senate hearing in August 2022, during which Wray confirmed the FBI had taken “direction” from the Trump administration of those interviewed in the investigation. The senator is expected to release a report on the FBI’s investigation of Kavanaugh by the end of the year, the Guardian Remarks.

To monitor

A new documentary on the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, Justicedebuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and the Guardian reports that it’s now being updated ahead of its general release. The version of the documentary that premiered at Sundance, which received mixed reviews, included a new recording by his Yale classmate Max Stier that corroborates Ramirez’s claims and describes a separate incident of Kavanaugh exposing himself during a night out at Yale.

Further reading

Revealed: Senate investigation into Brett Kavanaugh assault allegations contained serious omissions (The Guardian)

Brett Kavanaugh’s Secret Documentary ‘Justice’ Debuts at Sundance: Here’s What You Need to Know (Forbes)

Senator asks DOJ to investigate ‘fake’ FBI investigation of Brett Kavanaugh (Forbes)

Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyers and senators slam FBI’s 2018 ‘politically coerced’ investigation into Brett Kavanaugh after new details emerge (Forbes)